Elizabeth Elliot
Elizabeth Elliot, the eldest daughter of Sir Walter Elliot, is a woman whose life has been shaped by thirteen years of presiding over Kellynch Hall, a period that has given her a self-possession and decision that belie her age. She is handsome, having retained her bloom into her twenty-ninth year, and shares her father's profound vanity of person and situation. Her character is defined by a strong family pride and a relentless, though often thwarted, ambition to secure a marriage that befits her station as the daughter of a baronet.
Identity and Background
Elizabeth succeeded to all that was possible of her mother's rights and consequence at the age of sixteen, and from that time she has been the mistress of Kellynch Hall, directing its domestic affairs and leading the way in the society of the neighbourhood. She is very like her father in appearance and disposition, and their relationship has been a happy one, built on mutual admiration and shared vanity. Her influence over him has always been great, and she has gone her own way in all things, often in decided opposition to the advice of Lady Russell, who has never received from her more than outward attention. Elizabeth's world is one of elegant prosperity and, at its core, a profound nothingness, filled with the cares of maintaining her position and the agitations of seeking a proper match.
Life and Plot Trajectory
Elizabeth's life has been marked by a significant disappointment. From a very young age, she and her father had intended that she should marry her cousin, William Walter Elliot, the heir presumptive to the baronetcy. He was introduced to her in London when she was in her first bloom, and she found him extremely agreeable. He was invited to Kellynch Hall, but never came, and the next tidings were that he had married a rich woman of inferior birth. This rejection, compounded by his later disrespectful remarks about the family, has left her with a lasting anger. The arrival of the family in Bath, however, brings a dramatic reversal. Mr. Elliot, now a widower, seeks a reconciliation with Sir Walter and becomes a constant visitor in Camden Place. Elizabeth, encouraged by her friend Mrs. Clay, is disposed to believe herself his object, and the prospect of becoming the future Lady Elliot of Kellynch Hall seems to revive her hopes.
Key Actions and Objectives
Elizabeth's primary objective is to maintain and elevate the Elliot family's consequence. She is deeply involved in the management of the household, from the initial, failed attempts at retrenchment at Kellynch to the establishment of the family in a fashionable house in Camden Place. She is the driving force behind their social ambitions in Bath, eagerly pursuing an introduction to their cousins, the Dowager Viscountess Dalrymple and her daughter, and taking great pride in the elegance of their drawing-rooms and the sought-after nature of their acquaintance. Her actions are consistently guided by a sense of what is due to her rank, and she is quick to dismiss those she considers beneath her, such as the Crofts, whom she deems unsuitable for introduction to Lady Dalrymple. Her treatment of her sister Anne is marked by a consistent coldness and disregard, seeing her as of no consequence.
Relationships and Conflict
Elizabeth's most significant relationship is with her father, Sir Walter, with whom she shares a deep, if superficial, bond. She is also closely allied with Mrs. Clay, a clever and insinuating woman whom Elizabeth has taken as a confidante, much to Lady Russell's dismay. This friendship is a source of conflict, as Lady Russell sees Mrs. Clay as a dangerous companion and a potential threat to Sir Walter's singleness. Elizabeth's relationship with her sister Anne is one of neglect and condescension; she considers Anne of very inferior value and is openly affronted by Anne's warnings about Mrs. Clay. Her feelings towards Mr. Elliot are a complex mix of lingering resentment for his past slight and a revived, hopeful interest in his present attentions. She is ultimately mortified when his true, duplicitous character is revealed and he withdraws from the family.
Change and Ending
Elizabeth's trajectory ends not in triumph but in a quiet, continued state of expectation. The engagement of her sister Anne to Captain Wentworth, a man she had once coldly refused to acknowledge, is a blow to her pride, though she does nothing worse than look cold and unconcerned. The more significant blow is the departure of Mr. Elliot, who, upon hearing of Anne's engagement, quits Bath, and the subsequent exposure of Mrs. Clay's treachery, as she leaves to live under Mr. Elliot's protection in London. Elizabeth is left with her father and their great cousins, the Dalrymples, but the narrative suggests that a change in her situation is not very probable, and she must continue to flatter and follow others without being flattered and followed in return.
Narrative Role and Evaluation
Elizabeth Elliot serves as a foil to her sister Anne, embodying the very pride, vanity, and lack of genuine feeling that Anne has learned to overcome. She is a flat character in the sense that she is built around a single idea of family pride and personal consequence, and she never surprises the reader. Her consistent selfishness and her inability to see beyond the surface of rank and appearance highlight by contrast Anne's depth of character, her moral integrity, and her capacity for true attachment. Elizabeth's ultimate disappointment is a quiet but fitting conclusion to a life governed by the very values that the novel ultimately critiques.
